"New Orleans is my second home," Tulane University senior Jennifer Near said.
Near is among approximately 40 Tulane students who began their transition to Tufts this week. The group was accepted by the University in response to the closure of their school following widespread damage from Hurricane Katrina.
Roughly two-thirds of the students arrived last Thursday, and the rest arrived Monday. The students were given orientations by Tufts administrators in Dowling Hall.
Director of Administration, Information Technologies and Libraries Paul Stanton opened the orientation, where students were introduced to their new school and given their ID cards, e-mail addresses, housing assignments, and advising groups.
Other administrators also made presentations, including Dean of Students Bruce Reitman, Director of Residential Life Yolanda King, University Chaplain David O'Leary, and Associate Dean of Academic Services Jean Herbert.
Reitman encouraged the new students to integrate into the Tufts student body by becoming active in campus life right away. "You are here, you are a part of us," he said. "Take advantage of everything this place has to offer."
President Lawrence Bacow and his wife, Adele Fleet Bacow, also welcomed the new students. "We really want to give you a regular college experience and education," President Bacow said.
According to King, 17 of the students will be living on campus. Reitman is sending a letter thanking those students who volunteered to host one of the new students.
According to Dean for Undergraduate Education James Glaser, the admitted students were divided evenly between the four years. This is contrary to the administration's expectation that the small size of upper-level courses would limit the ability of upperclassmen to enroll at Tufts and still fulfill requirements for graduation.
Near, who is from nearby Moltonboro, New Hampshire, said she decided to come to Tufts because it comparable to Tulane in social life and academics. "Dartmouth is a great school but I wanted to be near culture and a city night life," she said. "Tulane is mostly on the same level with Tufts," he said.
Despite the similarities between Tufts and Tulane, Near is having difficulties taking the classes she needs to graduate because they do not exist at Tufts. She would like to find those courses at Tufts or at another school in the spring.
"I'm going to have to wait it out," she said.
Glaser said it is too late to bring in extra faculty and add to the curriculum just for the Tulane students. "Hiring a professor takes time," he said. He said, however, that extra sections of some courses had already been added to accommodate the large freshman class. "Everyone who wanted English I got into it," he said.
For this semester, Near is living off campus with another Tulane student, a Tufts student, and a Harvard graduate student. She said living off-campus makes it difficult to meet a lot of Tufts students. "It's hard to start over as a senior," she said.
She said she misses having a circle of good friends and being active in the groups that she spent time with at Tulane. With e-mail accounts and cells phones down, the Facebook has been the best way to keep in contact with friends from Tulane.
She has still not heard from some friends from school. "I'm sure they're alright but I'm just waiting to hear from them," she said.
Because she lives nearby, Near said, she can depend on her local friends. "It's harder for others who don't have any home now than it is for me," she said.
Harris Siambanis is a first year graduate student from Greece who is studying chemical engineering. His studies at Tulane were going to be his first extended stay in the United States. Siambanis chose to come to Tufts for many of the same reasons as Near.
Tulane senior Alisha Weir, who was at the orientation for guest students on Thursday morning, said she is not as sure as Near that she will be spending the entire semester at Tufts.
"I'm not happy to be jumping into classes so late," she said. "I'm not convinced I'm going to go to school this semester." She chose to come to Tufts at least temporarily because she knows people in the area and is from nearby Winchester, Mass.
By the end of the hour-long orientation session Thursday, some students had begun to yawn or shift impatiently in their seats.
New students were told they will have the option of buying a block of ten meals for $85 in addition to the other Dining Services meal plans. Meal blocks are usually available only to students who live off-campus.
The academic deans have agreed to allow all Tulane students a 10-week period to add and drop classes, the same length of time given to Tufts freshmen.
Junior Eli Cohen acted as a peer leader at the Thursday orientation, and he helped the guest students register for classes. "I told them if a class is closed, waive the Tulane flag at professors and they'll let you in," he said.
Cohen said the guest students seemed happy to settle down after two weeks of confusion.
Although Near is now close to her home, she still wants to get back to New Orleans as soon as possible. "I felt like I was being treated like gold [at Tufts]," she said. "But sometimes you just want to go home."
Near has already begun learning how to aid those in trouble in New Orleans, and she hopes to go back during winter break to help. "I will go back whether Tulane is open or not," she said.
